March 2018 Newsletter

755 Golspie St., Winnipeg, MB R2K 2V4 P: 204.669.0220 F: 204.669.2374

www.immanuelunitedchurch.net iuchurch@mymts.net

Holy Week and Easter Services

Palm Sunday March 25th 11am Immanuel

Maundy Thursday March 29th 6:30 pm at John Black United Church. This

Intergenerational service will include handwashing ritual and the Seder

meal. All ages welcome.

Good Friday March 30th 11am Immanuel

Easter Early Morning Service April 1st 7:30 am Immanuel

Followed by a breakfast

Easter Service April 1st 11am Immanuel

“Go beyond… Life is helping us.” Message from Ha Na

Last Sunday, March 11, I experienced the “Spring of joy”. It was still the middle of Lent, but there was a sense of accomplishment about the journey we were making through the four Lenten services. Our series of “Steps on the Journey towards Reconciliation” received very positive feedback, but the most important reward for me was to see how people truly seemed to feel their worship experience and learning about reconciliation was heart-changing and meaningful. I could see in people’s faces how pleased, how uplifted, how contented by the spirit of truth they were, when they were leaving. That observation filled my heart with living water to become a spring of joy. If you have joined one or more of our last services on Reconciliation, please do this activity with me as you reflect on what we’ve learned together in community: What were the highlights or the words you wished to remember? For me, the highlight in the first service was “Unravelling” our past history in a ritual where we actually unravelled strands of wool. (Joan McDonald, who knitted an unfinished shawl just for this service, said that it was harder to knit mistakes than to make it right.) At the end of the service, as Benediction, we connected everyone in the circle with the unravelled strands, passing and holding them. In the second service, Lorraine Kakegamic, our own church member and a member of Keewaywin First Nation, encouraged us to do more study and action as church. She said, “The healing has begun and is happening. There is action to be done. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission made recommendations and issued Calls to Action, and mentioned the churches in the calls to action. Reconciliation is an ongoing process and will require commitment from everyone.” I am grateful that in the third service, Stan McKay shared with us this memorable wisdom:

“The shared life is mystery, not management.”

I took that piece of wisdom this way: Reconciliation is really a journey to go beyond ourselves, willing to let go of the unnecessary burden of trying to make everything fit to the limits of our model, our control. I agreed with Ruth Campbell, our Guiding Elder of Living our Faith in the World Cluster, when she said, after all of our four services finished, “We all became a massive team who had a common vision, and we pulled it all off. Now we need to think of what comes next.” The question “What’s next?” invites us to think about which seeds we will plant next. Not just one, but many seeds, planted in multiple ways. I was challenged by Stan McKay when he encouraged us, during his message, to consider displaying the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in our bulletin or in our space. We are also planning to create an ecumenical workshop on Truth and Reconciliation for the churches and the people in East Kildonan neighbourhood and nearby areas, inviting all who are interested to plan it with us.

In fact, we can find many ways to go beyond ourselves. Ultimately, the word “Beyond” captures the true meaning of spirituality. In its most basic sense, going beyond means going past where we are now. It means not staying in our current state. In the remainder of the season of Lent, please continue your journey of going beyond. Easter is Mystery. It is the event and experience of encountering the risen Jesus. It is Mystery because no one can plan out the resurrection here and now. Easter as Mystery is something we can only plant like seeds, with open hearts, open minds, open doors. When we go through a hard situation, we can still plant one beautiful thing. Resilience and resistance, healing and inner peace must go hand in hand. In faith, we must believe…

Life is surrounding us with people and stories that stimulate growth. Life is helping us. God is with us.

A Room with a View

The office continues to be busy and I always look forward to seeing and hearing from people. The weather

is improving and it feels like Spring is coming.

I am in the office Tuesday to Thursday mornings.

Sharon Vandenberg, Office Administrator

A Lenten Journey to Truth and Reconciliation Immanuel experienced a unique Lenten journey the first four Sundays. For some time, a longing to share the

teachings from a book called Yours, Mine, Ours had been brewing in the hearts of the Thursday morning study

group and, was fired by many individuals' conversations, on how Immanuel could address the Truth and

Reconciliation impetus. We have committed money to this process from the Back Forty Project, but what do

we really know?

Living Our Faith in the World elder, Ruth Campbell, put the question to the cluster last September, from there

a smaller planning team was formed: Ruth Campbell, Dianne Tucker, Kerry LaRocque. Also, Norah McMurtry

and Lorraine Kakegamic were invited to add their vast experience and knowledge to the planning team. Ha Na

Park crafted the overall coming together of meaningful worship in cooperation with the variety of presenters.

Eileen Metcalfe and Peter Fyne lead our wonderful choir with music chosen especially for this series. Other

contributors to the Sunday services were: Marian Mathews, Joan Macdonald, Sharon Doerksen, Leslie Donnelly,

and Lynne Strome. Stan McKay and Loretta Ross came as special guest speakers. Sincerest thanks to all

involved.

Lent is a time of solemn spiritual discipline to draw nearer to God. Jesus taught that we become closer to God

by becoming closer to our fellow human beings. This is why the Worship Cluster deemed it appropriate to make

a solemn Journey to Reconciliation part of the Immanuel Lenten service. The four week series met all the

criteria.

Week one, Unravelling The Doctrine of Discovery revealed the sobering truth of how the divisions among First

Nations peoples and European settlers were established and propagated. Norah McMurtry, while artfully

pulling apart a much purposefully distorted item of knitting by Joan MacDonald, very dramatically introduced

the historical doctrine. Kerry LaRocque and Marian Mathews lead us through the ten disturbing articles, which

established the relationship between indigenous peoples and the colonizing government and settlers.

Week two, a testimony on Residential Schools was given by Lorraine Kakegamic about her late husband Solly's

experience in that system from age six. We were honoured to have many of Solly and Lorraine's family join us

for the heart wrenching story. It was so sorrowful to know the injustices done to indigenous families, to innocent

children. Lamentation took on new meaning for many of us. As we paused to think of our own precious children,

the profound damages done to generations of indigenous people begins to sink in, which makes finding the

truth, and the way to reconciliation imperative.

At this writing, week Three and four and are yet to occur, no doubt, the teachings and learning continue. Our

friend and respected indigenous elder, Stan McKay helps us understand more clearly the native peoples' way of

living with the land as a way of life rather than as owners of property. We come to know that this distinction

between philosophies is at the very root of arguments today.

Loretta Ross, a member of Hollow Water First Nation, lawyer, and the newly appointed Manitoba Treaty

Commissioner shares her knowledge with us in teachings about Treaty. The weeks of learning prior to Loretta's

insights have prepared us to further appreciate the complexities and great importance of honouring treaties in

today's world. The Worship Cluster, Ha Na Park, Leslie Donnelly and Lynne Strome always welcome feedback

on your worship experience.

Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank Update

We are no longer collecting egg cartons because Winnipeg Harvest has not

received any egg donations for the past year. Please continue to save plastic

grocery bags, large shopping bags, blue and white bags that the Wpg Free

Press uses as well as fruit and vegetable bags. Our clients continue to enjoy

coffee, tea and cookies and the friendly conversation provided by our Church

volunteers. Thanks to everyone for donations to the sharing basket so we are

able to supplement when our food delivery is sparce which occurs quite often.

Immanuel’s food bank is 15 years old this year! Joyce Smyth

JIGGN Upcoming Events

(John Black, Immanuel, Grey Street, Gordon King, North Kildonan

United churches)

Lenten Study - John Black Church, Tuesday's at noon, "So What" is the

topic. Ends March 27th. Bring your own lunch.

Easter Times:

Maundy Thursday service - John Black at 6:30pm.

All the churches are participating. All are welcome.

Good Friday services - 11am at Immanuel & John Black, 10:00 am at North

Kildonan, 10:30 am at Grey Street, 7pm at Gordon King

Easter - 7:30am and 11 am at Immanuel, 10:30 am at John Black, 10:30 am at

Grey Street, 10:00 am at Gordon King, 10:00 am at North Kildonan

Garage Sale at Grey Street in May, watch for more details.

Immanuel Players Dessert Theatre

This year’s Dessert Theatre Play is “Midnight Madness” a comedy/drama by Dave Carley. It will be performed at

7:30 pm on April 19th, 20th and 21st. Please spread the word to friends and family. Tickets are $15.00 each and

will be available after Worship on Sundays in the AMEN corner or by calling the office or email iuchurch@mymts.net

Remember to come for the play and stay for dessert!

Ministry and Personnel Committee The United Church of Canada requires every church to have a Ministry and Personnel Committee and the

committee at Immanuel meets monthly. M and P provides support for the staff and congregation with respect to

any issue affecting the staff of the church; the staff includes the minister, secretary, organist, choir leader,

caretaker, and Sunday School director. M and P acts as a liaison between staff and the congregation, and each

staff member has a designated liaison person on the committee. The committee works to build positive and

trusting relationships between staff and members of the congregation. Staff can raise issues and concerns with

M and P, as can any member of the congregation. Issues are dealt with confidentially; we listen and do our best

to find resolutions.

If you have praise for or concerns about staff, you may speak with a committee member: presently serving on

the committee are Jennifer Antymis, Neil Barbour, Sharon Doerksen, Anne Duncan and Marian Mathews.

In March, some members of the congregation are selected to provide feedback for each employee. You might

be asked to participate in this annual review process. Including the congregation assists us and our employees to

understand the impact of their services and to focus on any changes that might better serve our congregation and

our mission. Your input is valued.

Immanuel United Church is blessed to have committed staff and we are thankful for their work in our

congregation. Submitted by Sharon Doerksen for M and P

White Gift Report 2017

Thank you letters will be posted on the AMEN bulletin boards for all to read.

Your generous gifts were distributed as follows:

Agape Table $200

Winnipeg Harvest 10 boxes of food $545

LITE $170

North End Stella Ministry 4 boxes of food $300 ($100 to the Bell Tower initiative, $200 to the Healing Forest)

Interfaith Immigration 10 boxes (hygiene, clothes, gifts) $385

St Matthews Maryland Ministry 5 boxes (for Christmas Store)

Total Gifts: gratitude, happiness, loving, health, ripples of kindness $1600

Sincere thanks to all who participated!

Lynne Strome

Immanuel United Church Narrative Budget

prepared January, 2018

Central to the life of the Immanuel United Church congregation is Sunday morning worship. It is the time when the church community gathers to be nourished through biblical stories of our faith and the reflection thereon by our minister. The service is enhanced with musical offerings by the choir and the organist. The Sacrament of Communion is offered the first Sunday of the month. Children are welcome in the service but may also participate in Sunday School. In addition to our ministry personnel, members of the congregation are involved in Sunday morning worship by leading, greeting, collecting offering, counting offering, serving communion, singing in the choir, musical accompaniment, making announcements, reading scripture, writing and offering prayer, operating the sound system, making and serving coffee, clearing snow and/or cutting grass.

Includes: Portion of Ministry Personnel salary, organist and choir director’s salaries. worship cluster budget

Expenses by Category

Supporting and caring for our members takes place in many ways, and in many locations. Funeral and wedding services as well as visits in homes, hospitals and care homes are the most obvious places. However, a significant amount of pastoral care happens when we gather for worship or for congregational events such as the fowl supper, the dessert theatre and/or the retirees lunches. Pastoral care also is extended by our congregational members at the food bank, the breakfast program at a local school, SNOW Night and Just Christmas. A Memorial Fund is available for contributions of condolence.

Includes: Portion of Ministry Personnel salary, Ministers benevolent fund and donations to Memorial Fund

As well as Sunday School for children, adult study groups have been a tradition at Immanuel. Study groups are largely self-funded and, as such, are not reflected as a significant percentage of the budget. There are several long time, on-going groups. Short term gatherings for study also take place on occasion.

Includes: Sunday School curriculum, resource materials, portion of Ministry Personnel salary, Faith Formation and Lifelong Learning cluster budget

WORSHIP 21% PASTORAL CARE 6% LIFE LONG LEARNING 1%

In addition to being an opportunity to learn, study gatherings have proven to be a great place to get to know one another. The pre-Advent dinner, Fowl Supper, Easter morning breakfast and after-service coffee times are also occasions when there is opportunity to share and hear what is going on in the lives of one another.

Includes: Portion of Ministry Personnel salary, Caring for Our Faith Community Cluster budget

In support of needs beyond our city, Immanuel contributes to the mission and service of the United Church. In doing so, our offerings are supportive of Global and Canadian justice initiatives, Indigenous ministries and right relations, Community ministries, Theological education, Faith formation – youth, camping, intercultural engagement, remote ministries and Innovation in communities of Faith. The Mission and Service Fund also provides a vehicle to respond to worldwide emergencies such as hurricanes and earthquakes as well as to support the growing number of refugees around the world.

Includes: Contributions to the Mission and Service Fund, Special Relief donations

Immanuel has always contributed to the work of the wider church in Winnipeg by on-going donations and volunteering in support of the outreach ministries of Winnipeg Presbytery. Many members keep abreast of happenings in the wider church through subscription to the Observer.

Includes: Allocation to Winnipeg Presbytery, delegates to Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, Observer subscriptions.

Many years ago the congregation of Wesley United Church made a decision to not build a sanctuary but rather to continue worshipping in a smaller portion of the planned building. This decision meant that time and money, which would have gone into the building of the sanctuary, could be used to reach out to the community as needs arose. In 1974 Wesley United and Morse Place United Churches amalgamated to become Immanuel United Church which continues to focus much attention on needs beyond our neighbourhood. Ongoing financial and volunteer support for a school breakfast program, hosting a food bank and involvement in an alternative Christmas bazaar, Just Christmas, are a few of such endeavours.

Includes: Living Our Faith in the World Cluster budget as well as funds beyond the budget which are received and passed on to the appropriate group

The congregation values the welcoming presence as well as the caring and competent administration of the church office and of our financial resources which are maintained through staff resources and through volunteer work. Includes: Office Administrator’s

salary, office supplies and equipment, telephone, portion of Ministry Personnel salary, Stewardship of Financial Resources Cluster budget

In addition to a part-time caretaker, upkeep and maintenance of our building and property is accomplished by volunteers. The proposed development of the “Back 40” requires some financial output at this time.

Includes: Caretaker salary, heat, light, property improvements, supplies, snow removal, fire inspection, portion of Ministry Personnel salary, Back 40 costs

CONGREGATIONAL LIFE

TOGETHER 8%

MISSION & SERVICE 16%

WIDER CHURCH 5% ADMINISTRATION 4%

BUILDING & PROPERTY

26%

OUTREACH to the

COMMUNITY 13%

Finance Report

We are heading into the final 2 months of our fiscal year which ends on April 30, 2018. Our

deficit is lower than the same time last year due to lower expenses for ministry personnel because

we didn’t have a minister for 2 months. Our income is lower due to a decrease in Local givings.

We are grateful for everyone’s contributions toward the operations of Immanuel. Your givings

to Local on your envelopes form the bulk of our income and each and every gift is valued and

appreciated.

Here is a comparison of our operational numbers to the end of February 2017

February 2017 February 2018 Difference

Income $90,329.09 $87,305.30 Down $3023.79

Expenses $99,988.14 $90,922.62 Down $9065.52

Deficit $9659.05 $3617.32 Down $6041.73

Our M&S givings remain slightly higher than the same time last year. In 2017, they were

$18,787.90, this year they are $18,901.40: an increase of $113.50.

Sometimes you may find yourself with a sudden windfall. Perhaps you find some cash in a jacket

pocket, you get a little bonus at work or you just have more money at the end of the month than

you expected. If you were considering an additional gift to Immanuel, it would be gratefully

received. Of course, you can simply put it to Local and the money would go to our every day

operational budget but if you wanted to designate it to something more specific, we have a couple

of suggestions from our existing funds. The Stair Lift fund was set up to pay for the Stair Lift

to the upper level. The Thursday Morning Study group has been fundraising to pay off the lift,

but you can make donations to this fund to help them along. We also have a Shortfall fund that

is used to help pay off our deficit at the end of the year. Any donations to specific funds can be

made by using the other portion of your envelope and writing where you want the money to go. If

you have any questions about any of the funds or the Immanuel finances, please talk to any of the

members of your Finance Team.

Yours in Faithful Stewardship

Your Finance Team: Pat Schulz, Connie Kryschuk, Debbie Bilous

Building Resilience and Hope in Indigenous Children

a minute for mission from the United Church of Canada

Our gifts to Mission and Service support the important work of The Healing Fund. Let us hear

a story of how the The Healing Fund is building resilience and hope in Indigenous children and

youth

Pimicikamak Cree Nation (pronounced as pim ih chik uh mak) is a Cree speaking Indigenous

community north of Lake Winnipeg in Cross Lake, Manitoba. Pimicikamak means “where the

lake lies across the river”. The community initiated a three day suicide prevention strategy by

inviting Indigenous and non Indigenous artists to their community to create art with their

children, youth, and families.

Using an Indigenous framework called Circle of Courage, the project was created to promote

strength, resilience, and healing among the participants by fostering their sense of belonging,

mastery, independence, and generosity. Through various creative arts such as drum making,

storytelling, painting, singing, songwriting, music, and comedy, participants were recognized

for their talents and gifts. It strengthened the participants' relationships with each other as

well as their relationships with adults and Elders in the community. With guidance from the

artists, the youth were also able to build their leadership skills by helping coordinate parts of

the project. Every evening, participants generously shared their artwork with the community,

thus creating a narrative of healing and hope. Our gifts for Mission & Service support this,

other healing initiatives and much , much more – locally, nationally and globally.

If Mission & Service giving is already a regular part of your stewardship, thank you so much! If

you have not given, please join me in making Mission & Service giving a regular part of you life

of faith. Loving our neighbour is at the heart of our Mission & Service.

Should you have questions, Lynne Strome is the current M & S enthusiast.

Story prepared by Lorraine Kakegamic for Lent service held on February 25/18

Good Morning,

My name is Lorraine Kakegamic and I’m a member of Keewaywin First Nation located on

Sandy Lake in Northwestern Ontario. To give you a bit of history, my husband, Solly and I

became members of Immanuel United Church in May 2016. We transferred our membership

over from Raymond Flett Memorial United Church. Some of you will remember my former

church, as our two congregations had a few get-togethers. Solly passed away on August 8,

2016 from kidney disease caused from diabetes. Today, I want to share with you about Solly’s

residential schools.

It's hard for me to imagine what Solly went through when he was first sent out to residential

school. The year was 1950 in the month of September. He was six years old and did not speak

any English. His native language was called Oji-Cree which is a mixture of Ojibway and Cree.

He had been raised in the remote isolated community of Sandy Lake, ON. His parents did not

speak English. They were Christians and attended the Adam Fiddler United Church in Sandy

Lake. His parents would read from the Bible which was in Cree syllabics. His family of ten

lived off the land. His Dad was a trapper and a fisherman. In the summer they lived in tents

and in the winter they lived in a cabin in the community of Sandy Lake. Solly was the first one

of his family to be sent off to residential school. He did not know he would not see his family

again for ten months. He turned seven years old in October 1950.

The trip to the residential school must have been traumatic as Solly did not know where he

was going. It was his first plane ride. Several students were put on the cargo plane. They did

not have seatbelts and were jostled about during the plane ride. The plane landed in Red Lake

and they were put on a bus ride for about five hours, and driven by gravel highway to the

Pelican Falls residential school which was located about ten miles from Sioux Lookout. Upon

arrival at the school they had to take a shower and were given clothes. The boys were all

given a brush cut. The boys and girls each had separate dormitories with rows of beds. If

anyone was caught crying they were punished. They were not allowed to cry. Solly learned to

withhold crying. There was no love. He told me that he blocked a lot of the first two years of

residential school as he was sexually abused.

In September of 1952 Solly was sent to Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School near Kenora. Each

time he had to spend ten months of the year at the school. The students were not sent home

to Sandy Lake and would have to spend Christmas at the school. It was lonely and sad, not be

with family at Christmas time. Solly recalls receiving a puzzle as a Christmas gift. Other

students threw the puzzle on the floor in disgust.

A policy of the residential school was to separate the boys from the girls. There were boys’

and girls' playgrounds separated by a wire fence. They also ate separately. Solly recalls his

sisters attending the same residential school at Kenora. He was not allowed to talk with them.

All he could do was wave at his sisters when they were in their playgrounds.

Solly was punished with a wooden ruler on his hands for speaking his native language. It was

the policy of the school not to allow the students to speak their language. He managed to

keep his language, but sadly, did not pass his language onto his children as a result.

One thing that Solly enjoyed as he grew older at the residential school was the opportunity to

play hockey. He would help with clearing snow off the lake with a shovel to create a skating

rink on the lake near the residential school. In later years Solly joined a men's hockey team

when he worked at the gold mine in Cochenour near Red Lake.

The years of residential school took a toll on Solly. He did not have his loving parents as he

grew up. He only spent the two months of July and August with his family. It was hard to

leave his community each year knowing that he would be away for ten months. Solly was at

residential school when his grandmother died. He had been close to her, but did not find out

about her death until he returned to his community in June when school was over. Solly found

it difficult to show emotion and related that he did not cry.

Several job opportunities arose for Solly over the years. He worked in the gold mines in the

Red Lake area. He worked as director of the Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre, as manager of

Wa-Wa-Ta Native Communications Society in Sioux Lookout and as director of the Sioux

Lookout Fellowship Centre. It was while in Sioux Lookout he became friends with the United

Church minister Rudy Plug and felt a calling. Rudy asked him if he would be interested in

working in Winnipeg with a small worshiping group from the Island Lake area and from God’s

Lake Narrows. In 1980 he went for the interview with the Ministry With Native People board

in Winnipeg and got hired. Rev. Doug McMurtry was on the board and became his mentor

and good friend. Doug was a former minister for Immanuel United Church and was a member,

too. Solly took lay supply minister training over six years. He graduated and received his

certificate. The worshiping group were meeting at Stella Mission and other places in

Winnipeg. A building came up for sale at 410 Pritchard Avenue and the United Church

purchased the building for the worshiping group. Solly helped along with many others to have

the building consecrated as the Winnipeg Native United Church in September 1983. At the

same time the worshiping group became constituted as a United Church congregation. Later

on, the church was renamed as the Raymond Flett Memorial United Church.

In 1986 the United Church of Canada issued an apology to the former residential students. I

recall Doug McMurtry inviting Solly to come to visit United Church congregations and speak

about his residential school experiences. Immanuel United Church was one of the churches

that Solly visited. It was difficult for Solly to talk, however, he shared his stories. I was in tears

listening to him and I noticed other people in tears, too. I believe this helped in his healing as

he had kept so much inside.

I hope that you will gain a little understanding of what native students went through by

attending residential school. The students lost respect for themselves and others. They were

taken away from their loving families and stripped of their identity. Many were gone from

their homes for ten months of the year. They were beaten for speaking their native language.

A lot were abused including my husband and my mother who also attended residential school.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada met with many former residential

students. The wounds from the past were opened up with many former students and their

families. The healing has begun and is happening. There is action to be done. The Truth and

Reconciliation Commission made recommendations and issued Calls to Action, and mentioned

the churches in the calls to action. Reconciliation is an ongoing process and will require

commitment from everyone. I have hope that reconciliation or understanding will take place.

May God bless you all. Amen.

From the Guiding Elders - Discernment of Gifts Cluster

We here at Immanuel have been following the new Governance Structure now, since May 15,

2013. At that time, the people who discerned their role as Council Elders (CE) and Guiding

Elders (GE) of each Mission Cluster were voted into those positions for 2 years, with a one time

renewal. There have been some changes, but basically, those positions have remained the

same. A few people have discerned that NOW is the time for them to mentor people to replace

them in their positions. In light of this, please do not panic when you see the numbers of

positions which are needed to be filled. Some of the present people will remain in place through

to next year, but wish to have others in place to work alongside as mentors for them. Within the next month or so, they see this as an ideal time to do that, so that those coming into

their positions will not be doing so blind. Our Annual Meeting, when we vote people into their

positions, is scheduled for early to mid-May. We need to be a discerning people now to

consider who would be persons for Cindy and Marg to approach. At this time, we have been made aware that we will need to think about new people, with new

ideas for the following: Council Elders: 2-3 people Living our Faith in the World: 2 people Worship: 2 people Caring For Our Faith Community: 1 person Mission & Service: 1 person Affirming Ministry: 1 person The Ministry & Personnel Team will discern at least one member for the coming year. There will also be an opportunity in the future for a Communications Team to tackle the way

we communicate in our Church home and outside to the wider community. Please take the insert within your bulletin very seriously, fill it out and give it to Marg or Cindy

by the end of March. Thank you for all your discerning and considerations. Blessings Margaret and Cindy